


i want to hold your hand

by friarlucas (authorisasauthordoes)



Series: girl meets hogwarts [2]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, Harry Potter AU, much longer than it needs to be but that's fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-11-01 23:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10932423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authorisasauthordoes/pseuds/friarlucas
Summary: a handhold for each year in the girl meets hogwarts au





	i want to hold your hand

**Author's Note:**

> day 2 of rucas fic week - handholding !!

**\- 1 -**

The first time they hold hands, they barely know each other.

Sure, Riley Matthews knows of Lucas Friar, and he knows of her. They’ve exchanged greetings, introduced themselves, brought together by their mutual friendship with Maya. They could pick each other out in a crowd no sweat—it’s hard to forget the face of someone you nearly ran over during your first week of classes. Riley doesn’t think she could ever forget his kindness in a situation that could’ve easily ruined her already stressful first week. Lucas doesn’t think he could ever forget how bright her eyes are.

But aside from the occasional smile as they pass on the staircase or a brief wave from their table as they sit down for breakfast in the great hall, Riley and Lucas don’t see much of each other. It’s sort of the casualty of being in different houses, especially in first year when you’re already drowning attempting to figure out where everything is and where you belong. When the sorting hat plops on your head and tells you which table to sit at and what friends to make on that first night in the great hall, you sure as hell listen.

Still, Riley spends half of her time at the Hufflepuff table staring longingly at the table just a few feet away, wishing she was sitting with her best friend and her new classmates wearing their deep red uniforms with pride.

What she isn’t so proud of is how her best friend gets into trouble, and so often drags her along with her. Despite being in different houses and supposedly less vulnerable to Maya’s shenanigans, it’s Riley who is caught with her sneaking around to explore the castle after hours, earning them a swift detention.

Lucas’s actions to earn punishment are far less tame, getting caught in a fight with a couple of older Slytherin students making fun of the newly minted first years with less than pure blood status. Zay gets himself detention for cheering him on, having his back as only a new best friend can, and together the two of them make their way down the lawn towards the groundskeeper hut as the sun begins to set below the horizon line.

“I just don’t see why we have detention and those Slytherin jerks don’t,” Zay says angrily, his poorly-done tie bouncing loosely around his neck as he hops down the slabs of concrete towards the grounds. “You’d think calling someone names based on their blood status would warrant a corporal punishment or two. Or disciplinary action.”

Lucas shrugs, preferring not to think about it. “Maybe they just don’t care.”

“If I were headmaster, I’d feed them to the squid.”

“Pretty sure that’s child abuse.”

“If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it, lest you be dinner for our lovely lake companion.” Zay grins mischievously. “I think it would be a convincing incentive.”

They come to stop just outside the hut, surprised to find another student already waiting awkwardly by the gated-off creature pen. She’s tiny and bespectacled, practically swimming in her dark robes that seem a couple sizes too big. She’s familiar to Lucas—one of the students in their Charms class who always has her hand in the air to answer a question. The blue crest of Ravenclaw stitched onto her clothes confirms the association.

“Hey,” he greets her as they approach. “Smackle, right?”

Her eyes shoot up from staring at her feet, wide with surprise at being addressed. “That would be my name, yes. Do I know you?”

“We have Charms together. I’m Lucas. This is Zay.”

Zay nods distractedly, looking around her at the pen to see if he can spot any creatures. Smackle squints at them, obviously trying to recognize them from her memories of the first couple of weeks of class.

“It’s okay if you don’t recognize us,” Zay assures her, climbing onto the gate and craning his neck to see around the hut. “You’re up there in the front answering questions and being smart and stuff. We’re back of the class kids. You don’t turn around much.”

“Yeah, speaking of, what are you doing here?” Lucas stuffs his hands in his pockets. “This is where we’re meeting the groundskeeper for detention.”

Smackle sighs, pushing some hair behind her ear nervously. “Well, then it is a relief to know I am in the right place. I, too, am awaiting detention.”

Zay nearly falls off the fence, scrambling back to them and running into Lucas. “You? Detention? What the hell did you do to get detention? Annoy a professor to death?”

Lucas shoots Zay a warning glare, but Smackle doesn’t think anything of his comment. She makes an irritated face, clasping her hands together in front of her. “No. I got into a disagreement with another student in History of Magic.”

“In Matthews’ class? About what?”

“I merely tried explaining that he was wrong about the Goblin Rebellions. But he decided he knew more than me, so we got into a heated debate over the longevity of the conflicts and whether they actually ended in the seventeenth century or the eighteenth century. Suffice to say, we got a little out of hand and Professor Matthews had to intervene.”

“Imagine caring that much about history,” Zay mutters.

“Speak of the self-titled genius himself,” Smackle grumbles, nodding behind them at the lawn.

Lucas looks over his shoulder to find three more students heading towards them across the grass. The boy, who he figures must be who Smackle is referring to, is wearing Slytherin green under his black robes and walking with obvious self-importance. He carries himself impressively well for someone sporting a mop-top of brown hair and standing shorter than the two girls walking behind him.

The girls, on the other hand, are very familiar. Maya gives them a nod as they approach, nudging her best friend into tossing them a nervous wave.

“Great, a Slytherin,” Zay says flatly, scowling as the three of them join them at the base of the hut. Although he didn’t let it show, Lucas can tell the comments from the older students hurt Zay more than he’d like to admit. “How’d you manage to get detention? I thought Slytherins were immune to consequences of any kind around here.”

The Slytherin boy shrugs nonchalantly, training his attention on the petite Ravenclaw between them. “Smackle.”

“Farkle,” she spits, standing a little straighter. “I must admit, I’m impressed you decided to honor your punishment and show up.”

“Please,” he says. “Farkle doesn’t disrespect his elders, even when they’re incorrect.”

“Why is he talking in the third person?”

Maya steps around the rivaling geniuses to stand between her Gryffindor chums, Riley trailing along shyly behind her. “Fancy meeting you guys here.”

“Yeah, we could say the same thing,” Lucas says curiously. Noticing the anxiety in Riley’s features as she looks at the ominous forest behind them, he searches for something to say to distract her. “Hey.”

She blinks, a bit surprised. But the smile that forms on her lips is grateful. “Hi.”

Although it seemed like a good idea at first, Lucas regrets saying anything at all considering he has no idea what to say next. “Hi.”

“What are you guys doing here?” Zay asks, throwing Lucas a life preserver. “Riley, I can’t believe you’d ever get detention.”

She shrugs bashfully, elbowing her best friend pointedly. “She got me here. She made this big stink of exploring the castle after hours and I’m a chump and decided to go with her.”

“She’s loyal to the bone,” Maya says proudly. “A Hufflepuff through and through.”

“I can’t believe that.”

“What, that we’d go exploring after hours?”

“No,” Zay snaps. “That you’d go exploring after hours and not invite me!”

His complaints are cut short as the door to the hut slams open and from the depths emerges an enormous man, much larger and hairier than anyone they’ve ever seen before. Despite his size and intimidating features, his eyes are kind and the friendly smile shrouded in his beard conveys a sense of security to whatever situation they’re about to enter.

Riley decides that size is no determination of power—she’s much more intimidated by Smackle than the giant gamekeeper standing before them. Lucas decides he wants to know everything about him.

“If I’m counting right, looks like we’re all set to go,” he says cheerfully. “Got to admit to you all, it’s been a while since I took a crowd of first years for detention. Why don’t you introduce yerselves before we get going here?”

They go around the circle exchanging names. After each introduction, the gamekeeper gives a welcoming smile and nod. It’s reassuring enough that suddenly, Riley is sure that whatever they’re going to be spending detention doing couldn’t be so bad.

“Nice to make yer acquaintances. I’m Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper, groundskeeper, and professor. Teach Care of Magical Creatures, but you all likely haven’t heard of that one yet. Won’t be relevant to you ‘til you’re coming up on being third years.”

“Hagrid,” Lucas says slowly, recognition coloring his features. Riley notices the way his eyes light up. It’s the first time she’s really looked—she realizes they’re green. “I’ve read about you. Harry Potter talks about you all the time.”

A knowing smile crosses over Hagrid’s face. “A fan of Harry Potter, are ya?”

Lucas hesitates, a blush crawling up his cheeks. “I’ve read about him. A little.”

“Well, I’m a fan of Harry, too. Great wizard, great man. A great friend, above all else. Sure I’ve got a story or two you’d be interested in.”

“Do you have any stories about Ginny Weasley?” Maya pipes up, eyes wide with excitement. She’s practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. “She’s like, the raddest Quidditch player in the history of the game. She’s so fierce.”

Hagrid gives her an amused look. “Tell you what. How about you all come down for a spot of tea sometime? That’ll be much more proper for a conversation such as this. For now, we’ve got nasty business to attend to.”

Riley swallows nervously. Farkle rolls his eyes, presumably at the Gryffindor worship.

Hagrid begins to lead the way around the pen, the six of them nearly jumping out of their skin when a large hound comes bounding out of the hut behind them, barking loudly and trotting to catch up to his owner. He’s obviously aged, fur drooping a bit and stride a little wobbily, but he prances along with them with the enthusiasm of a newborn pup.

Lucas grins, jogging forward to keep up with the gamekeeper and his dog. “Is he friendly?”

“Oh, Fang? He’s just the friendliest mutt you’ll ever meet,” Hagrid says fondly. “Bit of a barm, but he’s the best companion I coulda hoped for. Getting a little old, though, as you can probably tell.”

“Excuse me, Mister Hagrid, sir,” Farkle says loudly from the middle of the pack. “But what exactly are we going to be doing? Our curfew goes into effect in a couple of hours, and the sun has already set. It’s not very smart of us to be wandering around in the dark, especially right outside the forest.”

Hagrid lets out a booming laugh. “If that’s the way you’re thinking, then you’re not going to like what I have to say next.”

“Oh my God,” Zay gasps, an impish grin spreading across his face. “The forest? Are we gonna go in the—?”

“The Forbidden Forest?” Farkle squawks, staring at Zay in disbelief before turning his sneer up towards the gamekeeper leading the parade. “We can’t go in there! It’s Forbidden. It’s literally in the title. And students aren’t allowed.”

“Oh, boy, do you remind me of someone,” Hagrid mutters under his breath. Still, his tone is pleasant. “That’s indeed where we’re headed today. It’s been a while since I led a detention in these woods, but the forest has become much safer since those days.”

He doesn’t elaborate, but all of them know what he’s referring to. They’ve heard the stories of the second wizarding war, and the dangers Voldemort once posed to the castle and the wizarding world at large. There’s a reason Harry Potter is a household name.

Riley shivers, thinking about a half-formed evil wizard slinking along the forest floor. She’s grateful she doesn’t have to worry about it.

Farkle has different concerns. “But what about the spiders? And what if we see a centaur, how do we engage with them without getting attacked? What about—,” Farkle pauses, lowering his voice to a whisper and gulping. “Werewolves?”

“Should we meet a centaur, you engage with ‘em the same way you’d engage with any of the other folks walking with us right now. But don’t get all worked up. No one and nothing is gonna bother yeh as long as yeh stick with me or Fang here.”

Farkle looks as though he wants to argue, but he decides against it. Zay gives him a smug look, jogging to keep up with Lucas and Hagrid.

Riley has to admire the way Lucas plunges forward into the darkness of the forest with seemingly no trepidation at all. He doesn’t seem scared by anything, really—he approaches the terrifying things with fascination rather than fear. She thinks maybe she could learn a thing or two from him.

When they get just inside the tree line, Hagrid turns around and examines the six of them, gesturing an invisible line down the middle. He points to Farkle, Zay, and Maya. “You three, you’re going to come with me. The rest of yeh, take Fang and stick together. We’re going to be doing a patrol of the outer ring of the forest, make sure everything is in check. Then, we’ll meet at the spider cove and head back together.”

Farkle’s jaw drops. “We’re splitting up?”

“We can’t split up,” Zay argues, suddenly a little less smug than before. He drifts closer to Lucas, staring at the inky blackness of the woods around them. “You should at least keep the Gryffindors together. Triple bravery, right?”

“Oh, come now,” Hagrid says jubilantly, patting Zay’s shoulder bracingly. It’s enough to make him stumble slightly, in the opposite direction of his best friend. “It’s easy work, and it’ll be done before yeh know it. Could be worse. Could be cleaning the trophy case using snail slime.”

Zay tosses Lucas a frown as he’s led to the left, starting their patrol. Maya waves dramatically to Riley as she follows their lead.

Smackle squints into the darkness, calling after Hagrid anxiously. “How are we supposed to know which way to go?”

“Fang’ll lead the way! He knows this forest better than I do!”

“What?” Farkle shrieks, his concern being the last thing they hear before their friends disappear further into the forest.

After a few seconds of hesitation Riley propels their trio to move forward, Lucas and Fang taking the lead and Smackle trailing along behind with her. The longer they spend in the trees, the more Riley convinces herself that there’s nothing to worry about. If Lucas can march through the forest as if there’s nothing to be afraid of, then so can she.

“Did you know the forest hosts quite the array of creatures?” Smackle asks, spouting trivia in an attempt to hide her nerves. “Bowtruckles, for one, but they’re very hard to spot. They blend in with the foliage, you see, so we’d be better off watching where we step. According to  _Fantastic Beasts_ , they can be quite dangerous when threatened.”

Riley keeps an eye out for Lucas’s red tie in the darkness, hoping not to let him and Fang get too far ahead. “Well, I’m sure almost getting stepped on would count as a threat.”

“Certainly. There’s also supposedly a mysteriously enchanted car that runs rampant, but there are conflicting stories as to its origin. My father seems to think it’s a myth, but he’s a Muggle so I’m not sure he’s the one to ask. My only wonder is how does such a contraption not run out of gas? Especially after a decade or so running free?”

Fang barks loudly from somewhere ahead, grabbing Riley’s attention and snapping her out of her trance in listening to Smackle lecture. It suddenly occurs to her that there’s no red easily in sight, Lucas and Fang having disappeared as soon as the barking ceased.

So much for nothing to worry about.

“Lucas?” Riley calls out, rushing down the slope of dead leaves and dirt. Smackle clambers after her, keeping an eye out. “Fang!”

Suddenly, rustling from behind one of the nearby trees stops Riley dead in her tracks. She can feel her heart pounding in her wrists. Smackle bumps into her from behind, holding her breath as the rustling grows louder.

“You know, they say the trees here are ancient,” Smackle whispers, unable to stop filling the silence with facts as a coping mechanism. Her voice shakes slightly. “They supposedly hold a lot of secrets.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Riley breathes, wringing her hands together. “What did you say about the creatures that live here?”

Smackle opens her mouth to reply when the rustling stops, moments later being overpowered by a long, piercing howl. Both girls stand in shocked silence, uncertain what to do or where to move next. Riley thought it was silly of Farkle to be so worried about werewolves—she knows plenty of werewolves in history who were perfectly fine people—but now, standing on the edge of life or death, she isn’t so sure. She didn’t even bother to check if it was a full moon.

Tentatively, Riley takes a step forward towards the direction Fang went, his paw prints smudged in the dirt. When nothing happens, she releases a sigh and turns to face Smackle, giving her a reassuring smile.

That’s when something leaps at her from behind the ancient trunk of one of the trees, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly.

“Boo!”

Riley lets out the loudest, most blood-curling scream she’s ever uttered, scrambling away towards Smackle and catching her breath. It takes her an embarrassingly long time to realize the spook isn’t an actual threat—about as long as it takes for her to register Fang’s yapping and the laughter echoing through the woods.

She whips around to find Lucas cracking up, Fang hopping around his feet and barking delightedly, almost as if he’s laughing at her too. Riley pouts, crossing her arms indignantly. “You think that was funny?”

“You should’ve seen your face,” Lucas says happily, leaning over to entertain Fang and scratch him proudly behind the ears. Although he’s definitely laughing at her expense, it occurs to Riley that it doesn’t seem cruel. As far as pranks go, his features don’t betray any sort of malicious intent.

She decides to let it go, seeing as none of them are hurt and she sort of likes the sound of his laugh. It’s because of him she’s felt safe at all tonight, so she’ll let this one slide. She wanders over to join him, Smackle keeping pace behind her. “How did you get Fang to stay so quiet?”

“Oh, me and Fang are buddies now,” he says off-handedly, whistling for the hound to start forward again in the direction they’re supposed to be going.

“Yeah, real nice buddies,” she grumbles, crossing her arms as they continue onward.

Lucas gives her a lopsided grin, a little sheepish at the tone in her voice. “Sorry, Riley. I was just kidding around.”

“Was the wolf howl really necessary?”

“That was Fang’s idea, not mine.”

“Well, it wasn’t very nice,” she says matter-of-factly, keeping her arms crossed over her chest as they make their way through the underbrush. “Smackle was just telling me all the stuff that’s in here, and all the things you could’ve been. Like a bowtruckle. Or a bewitched car. Or a giant—,”

“Spider!” Smackle squeaks, freezing and pointing ahead of them.

Fang begins snarling as an massive shadow moves through the underbrush, a strange clicking accompanying the sound of movement against the forest floor. The smile is gone from Lucas’s face, for the first time betraying just as much fear as Riley feels. In the next moment the shadow slowly rotates to face them, all Riley being able to make out through the dark being eight beady, twinkly eyes.

Her hand moves before she can stop herself, reaching down and finding Lucas’s. She holds on tight, unable to do anything else but stand frozen at the creature peering through the underbrush before them. Lucas glances down at their hands but doesn’t pull away, likely also immobile from terror.

Riley can’t believe she’s going to die before she even gets through first year. Lucas can’t believe he’s going to die and he can’t even properly register the fact that Riley is holding his hand.

“There they are!”

The spider blinks once before disappearing back into the shadows of the trees, leaving the three of them standing shell-shocked at how close they probably came to death.

Maya breaks through the underbrush first, having shouted the words that saved their lives and not even realizing it. Hagrid emerges right behind her, followed by a very pale Farkle and a somewhat sick-looking Zay.

“Look at them,” Farkle says quickly, pointing at Riley and Lucas. “They’re holding hands.”

Such a blunt reminder of the fact forces them out of their shock. Lucas glances down at their hands again before locking eyes with Riley, not surprised when she subtly pulls away from him and clasps her hands behind her back.

It feels a little like a cruel trick, but considering the prank he pulled he figures he deserves it. But as the group of them make their way back towards the castle, feeling much safer moving as a pack, he can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever experience it again, or if facing death is the only plausible way he’ll ever get to hold Riley Matthew’s hand.

**\- 2 -**

Lucas’s question is answered relatively quickly, seeing as the longer they’re friends the more likely Riley is to grab his hand at a moment’s notice.

Sure, it’s not particularly special to him, as Riley is just very generous with touch when it comes to her friends. He learns this lesson well enough by their second year, after a few months of shoulder nudges and pats on the back and affectionate elbows to the ribs. If she’s this comfortable with him and Zay and Smackle, the latter grimacing but accepting the touch whenever it comes, he can’t imagine how much or how little time it takes to earn the level of trust she has with Maya.

With Maya, it’s near constant attention whenever they’re close enough—arms draped around shoulders, enthusiastic hugs whenever they reunite, arms linked together as they make their way through the bustling halls to protect themselves from being torn apart.

Lucas doesn’t think he’d ever be able to reach that level, and he wouldn’t want to usurp Maya to do it, but sometimes he has to wonder what it would be like to have Riley greet him with an excited embrace or link her arm in his just to keep from floating away.

In the meantime, he’s got other things on his arm as winter rolls around. Bundled up and with his Gryffindor scarf wrapped securely around his neck, Lucas makes his way up to the owlery with Judy hopping restlessly on his shoulder.

He was a little surprised when his mother gave him the extra funds to buy a pet at Diagon Alley at the start of second year, and both Maya and Zay expressed great discontent at his choice to purchase a tiny, zippy little owl who can barely carry her own weight. She still hasn’t quite mastered delivering packages, or letters, or anything really. But Lucas is obsessed with her anyway, much to the amusement of the older Gryffindor boys who like to poke fun at him in the common room.

Besides, Maya can’t talk. She has a pet rat, for Merlin’s sake.

He steps up to the door and giggles as Judy nibbles lightly at his ear, shrugging his shoulders slightly to get her to stop. He nudges her down his arm as best he can with his head, grinning as she hops onto the post in front of him.

“Okay, Judy, this is going to mom. Grace Friar. You got it?” He gently ties the rolled-up letter around her tiny foot. “Everyone else thinks you’re a hack, but I know you can get this where it needs to go. Can’t you? I know you can.”

Judy hoots, pecking at his thumb. Despite incidentally drawing blood and earning a wince from him, he knows the gesture is affectionate.

Once the letter is secured, he guides her back onto his wrist and leads the way back out of the owlery, standing at the top of the steps and holding his arm out for her to take off. She waits a couple of moments for the wind to pick up, wings flapping unceremoniously until she catches the drift and takes flight, gliding away.

Lucas stands and watches her go, a speck of brown against the white sky of an incoming snowfall. It’s hard to be in awe of the sight. Once she’s well past the clouds he heads back down to the castle, sucking at the place on his thumb where Judy really got him.

“Lucas!” a familiar voice chirps as soon as he rounds the corner into the main hall. He jumps and moves out of the way just as Riley runs up to stand in front of him, Maya trailing along indignantly behind her. It’s a miracle he didn’t knock her over again.

“Hey,” he says in surprise.

“Hi!”

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he jokes, referring to their near-collision.

Riley waves him off, obviously preoccupied with other matters. Whatever it is, it’s got her all hyped up. “As long as we get to see each other, right? Were you just coming from the owlery?”

“Yeah, I was.”

He opens his mouth to ask where she’s off to in such a rush when he’s caught off-guard as she suddenly grabs his hand, taking a look at his thumb. “Looks like Judy got you, huh?”

He doesn’t remember how words work. “Yeah, a bit.”

“Here, I’ve got a band-aid. One second.”

“God,” Maya says with an eye roll, finding a way to insert herself into the conversation. “Are you a witch or not? Use magic.”

“Maya, we haven’t learned spells that complex yet,” Riley says prudently, removing a band-aid from her pocket and unwrapping it. Carefully, she holds Lucas’s hand and sticks the bandage around his thumb, squeezing to make sure it’s secure. “There.”

“Thanks.”

“Riles,” Maya says pointedly, nudging her best friend in the ribs. “If we don’t hurry, we’re going to miss it.”

“Miss what?”

“Oh, Lucas, you should come too!” Riley exclaims, wheeling around to face him again. “They’re bringing in this super rare plant for Herbology and only the sixth years are going to get to see it, but if we go down there to watch them bring it in we might get a glimpse of it.”

He has absolutely no idea what she’s talking about, but the amount of excitement on her face is hard to say no to. As if he’d ever pass up the chance to spend time with Riley Matthews. She’s beaming so brightly he has to wonder how the sun is the brightest star in the galaxy when she exists.

“Okay.”

She lets out a gleeful yelp and starts forward again, and he barely has time to remember that she’s got a firm grip on his hand before she’s yanking him down the hall after her. Maya cracks up and the three of them jog out the doors and down towards the green, Riley not letting go of his hand the entire run to the greenhouses.

Maya ducks down behind a patch of overgrown pumpkins and waves for the two of them to follow, crouching and peering over the top of the row to get a good look at the greenhouse across the way. “How big do you think this thing is gonna be? Are we gonna be able to see it?”

“It’s a rare kind of Venomous Tentacula,” Riley says expertly, curiosity glittering in her brown eyes. “Supposedly much larger than anything we’ve seen in the school before. At least, that’s what Josh told me.”

“Josh told you this?” Maya rolls her eyes, unimpressed. “He was probably just messing with you. We’re out here crouching in the dirt for nothing.”

“He wouldn’t just lie to me, Maya,” she argues defensively, huffing and staring determinedly at the back entrance of the greenhouses. She turns to Lucas, tilting her head at him. “You believe me, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” he says without thinking, nodding agreeably. “Of course.”

“Oh, like it’s any surprise Huckleberry agrees,” Maya mumbles. “He didn’t even know about this until five seconds ago.”

Lucas glances up to see Professor Longbottom approaching the back entrance to the greenhouse, magicking the door open and gesturing to someone unseen from the other side of the building. He nudges Riley urgently to get her attention, nodding in the direction of their Herbology professor.

The three of them watch as Longbottom steps back into the greenhouse, followed by two men in protective gear carrying a very large planter between them. Rooted in the soil is the largest, gnarliest potted creature Lucas has ever seen. His jaw drops at the sight of it, and a quick glare to his left shows him that both girls have similar reactions, their mouths hanging open.

“Oh my God!” Maya mutters in a voice barely above a whisper. “Did you see that thing?”

“Told you Josh wasn’t lying!” Riley says triumphantly, elbowing Lucas and craning her neck to try and get another glimpse of it as it disappears into the greenhouse. “I told you! Isn’t it amazing?”

“Amazing is one way to put it,” she replies, grimacing slightly as the disturbing creature is shut into the greenhouse with a slam of the door.

But Lucas gets exactly where Riley is coming from. It’s a little crazy to exist in a world where creatures like that exist, where a wave of a wand can open a door or heal a wound, where just about anything is possible with the right attitude and proper training.

He exhales, shaking his head in admiration. “I love magic.”

Riley and Maya both turn to look at him—cheerfully and disdainfully, respectively.

Lucas decides Riley’s smile is a special kind of magic all its own.

**\- 3 -**

By third year, a handhold doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.

Well, that’s not entirely true. Lucas would be lying if he claimed he didn’t feel his heart skip a beat any time Riley took his hand, no matter how many times she’s done it before.

Riley would be lying if she claimed there wasn’t a specific place in her stomach that flipped each time she linked their fingers together, whether it be for a display of affection or a sense of comfort. Lucas is one of her most treasured friends after all, and so far as their third year of schooling is concerned, she’s starting to develop a friendship with him that extends past Maya and Zay. They’re developing a friendship that’s uniquely their own.

So a handhold or two doesn’t feel out of place. It certainly doesn’t cause the sort of freeze that it did in the Forbidden Forest first year.

It’s also in third year that Maya has the bright idea of booking them a trip on the Knight Bus.

Lucas had spent most of winter break with them at Matthews’ this year, a welcome change in Riley’s opinion that she hopes becomes a tradition. Although he was clearly a bit uncomfortable with all the attention he got from her family, it’s obvious that he deserves the warm holiday cheer and home-cooked food and mild smothering from her mother. They never talk about their home lives, but she has the feeling his is far from cushy. Far from what he deserves, in her humble opinion.

If she had it her way, Lucas Friar would get everything he wants in life and more. But magic can’t do everything.

For the last few days of break, the three of them agreed to go to Zay’s and celebrate the end of holiday with his parents. Riley is flattered by the invitation, but Maya points out its most likely Lucas they want to see and they’re just tagging along. She chooses to ignore her cynical friend.

Her cynical friend also decides that the Knight Bus is the way to travel, so she figures out the best way to summon it and leads the way out of the Matthews house without much of a goodbye. Topanga waves after her before giving Riley a tight hug. “Write us if you need anything.”

“You know I will,” she assures them, accepting a hug from her father.

Auggie tugs at her coat, pulling her to kneel down in front of him. “When do I get to go to Hogwarts like you?”

“Oh, only a few more years,” she promises, squeezing him tight. She knows how impatient he’s been to get to Hogwarts, especially since she left him behind. She rises to her feet again just as Topanga is adjusting the scarf around Lucas’s neck, nitpicking with good intentions as only a mother can.

“The same goes for you,” she instructs him. “If you need anything, you feel free to send us a letter.”

“Are you gonna come back next year?” Auggie asks him. “Or maybe this summer? Maybe you could just move in?”

Lucas laughs awkwardly, obviously unprepared for the attention. Riley smiles in spite of herself, tucking some hair behind her ear and watching him interestedly. “I think that’s up to your parents.”

“You’re welcome here any time,” Cory says graciously, before narrowing his eyes and pointing to him suspiciously. “So long as you stay where you’re supposed to stay.”

“And with that,” Riley says, cutting off her father’s protective tirade before it forays into awkwardness. “We should really be going.”

“Let us know when you get there!”

“Will do,” Riley agrees, taking Lucas’s hand to tug him out of the doorway and into the winter air. She waves one more goodbye to her family as they shut the door behind them, leaving them in the cold darkness to fend for themselves.

Lucas disconnects his hand from hers to grab his bag, taking her suitcase too without even asking. Although she could very well carry the baggage on her own, she decides not to make a big fuss over it. The gesture makes her feel a little warmer inside. “I don’t get why we didn’t just use Floo Powder. Wouldn’t that save us a whole lot of trouble?”

“You know, Hop-a-long, if you have a disagreement with my travel practices you can bring it up with me.”

Riley grins as Lucas rolls his eyes, stopping next to her best friend on the curb. Above them, a light snow begins to fall, dusting their shoulders and luggage with flakes.

Maya plays with her wand, waiting impatiently and staring into the distance at nothing in particular. Lucas watches with amusement as Riley attempts to catch a snowflake on her tongue. It’s an effective distraction until Maya groans in annoyance, stamping her foot on the gravel.

“I don’t know why this isn’t working. All it says is to hold out your wand like you’re trying to hail a taxi. I don’t think it could get much more to the point than that.”

Lucas raises an eyebrow, walking forward and examining her stance. “You’ve never hailed a cab before in your life, have you?”

Maya rolls her eyes, but her pureblood understanding of the world shows through particularly prominently in that moment. “Like you know better.”

“I do.” Lucas takes her wand from her, Riley walking over and watching over his upper arm as he demonstrates. “You’re being too stiff about it. It’s more of a casual thing. If you hold it like this—,”

All the sudden, there’s a bang from down the road like car backfiring, and they’re lit in a blinding light as a pair of headlights approaches them at frightening speed. A huge double-decker bus veers straight towards them, seemingly with no intention of stopping.

“Maya!” Riley shrieks.

Lucas drops her wand and moves to push Riley out of the way as the bus screeches in their direction, only for Riley to slip on the slick pavement and grab his hand, sending them both tumbling down to the ground. Maya leaps out of the way just as the bus grinds to a halt inches in front of her. Considering they can see their breath from the chill in the air, it’s obvious how shocked they all are as they fight to catch their breath.

Maya scrambles to her feet first, searching for her wand in the grass. Riley pushes herself onto her elbows in a daze, realizing that in her fall she landed halfway on top of her chivalrous friend who tried to get her out of the way in time.

“Sorry,” she says apologetically, tenderly checking his head for any obvious signs of injury. “Are you okay?”

His voice is surprisingly crackly when he speaks again. He makes to clear his throat. “Um, yeah. All good.”

A man steps down from the stairs of the bus, leaning nonchalantly against the frame and crossing his arms. “What are you doing on the ground for?”

Riley blushes, clambering off of Lucas helping him to his feet. Maya stands straighter and brandishes her wand out, attempting to come off as put together as possible. “Yes, hi. We’re hoping to secure a ride.”

“Sure thing. You got the funds?”

“We most certainly do.” Maya doesn’t let her confidence falter, but she leans back a bit to get her friend’s attention. “Riley, the funds.”

Riley steps forward and hands the man enough Sickles for the three of them. He counts them idly for a few long moments, Maya obviously growing impatient.

“Looks right to me. Welcome aboard the Knight Bus.” He hops down to help Lucas with the bags, carrying them onto the vehicle. “I’m Harley Kiener, your conductor and go-to man for all things knightly and all things bussed. But you can just call me Harley.”

Lucas climbs on last just as the doors creak shut behind them, giving Maya an uncertain look as they make their way into the aisle of the bus. With many beds but not many chairs, they’re not sure where to settle. “Where should we—?”

“Hold on,” is all Harley offers before the Knight Bus blasts again, taking off into the night.

All three of them are thrown backwards, unprepared for the speed at which they’d be traveling and reaching to grab the first bar they can grasp. Despite her insistence to take the transportation all break long, Maya suddenly looks a little less sure as they careen through side streets and weave in and out of busy traffic.

Riley reaches instinctively for Lucas’s free hand, just for a sense of stability as they travel at breakneck speed. He doesn’t seem to mind, gripping her hand tightly as the beds and tables rock dangerously back and forth around them.

“Um, Mister Harley Kiener,” Riley says nervously, stumbling a bit on her feet and leaning into Lucas’s side to regain her balance. “Are you sure this driving operation is safe?”

“Safe?” he cries out, seemingly offended by the insinuation. “Little Zippy, this Knight Bus has been in operation since the late nineteenth century. You’d think if there were issues to be had with our driving practices—,”

Riley makes a face. “Little Zippy?”

Maya sneers. “The nineteenth century?”

The bus takes a sudden swerve to avoid a back-up on the bridge. Maya grabs onto her pole with both hands.

“Then we’d have heard about it. Ernie here has been driving the Knight Bus for almost a century, if you have an issue with his operation you best take it up with him. Besides, we even just got that sticker attached to the back of the bus. You know, ‘how am I driving? Call this number!’ And we ain’t ever had a bad complaint yet.”

“That’s probably because you’re going too fast to read it,” Maya points out.

“What’s that you say?”

“Cow!” Lucas shouts.

Riley stares at him, following his wide-eyed line of vision to see out the dashboard window as they speed right towards a cow grazing its way into the middle of the road. Harley leans around to get a good look as well, sighing regrettably.

“They always gotta graze in the road.”

In the next second the bus slams to a stop, inches from the cow. The animal doesn’t seem to notice, but Riley, Lucas, and Maya definitely feel it, reeling backwards and collapsing into the steps that lead up to the second half of the double decker.

“Merlin’s beard,” Maya mutters numbly, blinking to shake off the daze.

“Oh, come on then, up on your feet,” Harley chides, reclining back again and crossing his arms. “We’ll be going again soon enough.”

The rest of the ride progresses with a similar amount of mishaps, Riley certain all of them are going to have plenty of bruises to show for it in the morning. Even though she’s comfortable enough holding Lucas’s hand, she doesn’t think he signed up to have his fingers broken by how firm her grip is.

“Coming up on your stop here,” Harley says, not bothering to look up from the book he’s reading.

“What?” Lucas says with a frown. “What are you talking about? We’re in the middle of—,”

“Right about now.”

The bus slams to a stop in the middle of a cozy neighborhood. Riley knows, because she, Lucas, and Maya ram into the glass as soon as the vehicle stalls, thrown up against the window in the least graceful manner possible. She’s not entirely sure she didn’t actually break one of Lucas’s fingers.

Harley helps them toss their stuff off the bus. “Hope you enjoyed your ride. Feel free to call and let us know what you thought of our services.”

“Oh, I’ve got something to say,” Maya snaps.

Before she can finish the thought, the bus backfires again, zooming out of sight and into the wintery mix. The propulsion is enough to rocket Maya backwards off her feet, collapsing on her butt in the snow. Riley almost suffers a similar fate but Lucas manages to catch her, grabbing her waist before she can tumble to the ground.

“Hey, you made it!” Zay’s familiar voice greets them as he exits his front door, walking down the stoop to meet them. “Maya, what’re you on the ground for?”

Riley gives Lucas a grateful smile, disentangling herself from him to grab their things. As her friendship with him develops, she secretly hopes that he’ll always be around to be the hand she can hold when she needs to feel a sense of stability. Or at the very least, he’ll catch her if she’s about to fall.

**\- 4 -**

For whatever reason, fourth year casts a shadow of doubt over their developing relationship. Riley is no longer sure that Lucas will be there to catch her if she falls. Lucas is pretty sure that Riley would rather have anyone else in the world reach out to hold her than him.

This is thanks to two very specific factors—the Yule Ball, and Charlie Gardner.

The pressure of such a romantic tradition puts a peculiar strain on the upperclassmen of Hogwarts, and it has nothing to do with the stress of the Triwizard tournament. Asking teenagers to put themselves out there and ask one another to a formal event sort of feels like asking them to jump into the Black Lake with the mermaids or willing face the dragon—both of which feel easier than possible rejection.

Farkle and Smackle exhibit this perfectly, when his go-to method for getting her to go to ball with him seems to be to scream at her from one end of the hallway. She yells back an agreement, but only on the basis of the fact that she figures he’s the only one who could hold a decent conversation with her.

“Isn’t it crazy,” Riley says with a content sigh, shaking her head as Smackle storms off in one direction and Farkle embarrassedly darts down the other end of the hall. “How crazy about each other they are?”

Crazy definitely seems like the best way to describe. Lucas doesn’t see how anybody could possibly ask someone to the ball, especially someone they’d actually really like to go with and that would seriously hurt to be rejected by. Lucas starts an invitation to Riley a million times while they’re studying, at the breakfast table, walking to class, only to chicken out and change the subject before he can actually pose the question.

When Zay works up the courage to ask Vanessa, a clever and stunning Slytherin in their year who he’d been enraptured with since last year when they shared Care of Magical Creatures class together, and she by some miracle says yes, Lucas knows he has to get his act together. Even if he isn’t going to ask Riley, he needs to ask someone or else face the reality of going stag to the only Yule Ball they’re going to get in their time as students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It’s all he can think about, and it’s what he’s stressing over as he exits the school and heads down the grounds towards Hagrid’s hut, naturally running right into Riley on her way back up from the greenhouses.

“Oh, God,” she says with a laugh, patting his arms gratefully when he reaches out to catch her from stumbling. “Lucas, you scared me.”

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he jokes, letting go of her waist and stepping around her.

She nods, smiling shyly and tucking some stray hair behind her ear that managed to escape her messy ponytail. “You headed to Hagrid’s?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, cool. Tell him I say hi.”

“Can do.” He should ask her. They’re just standing there, no one else is within ear shot. She gives him a good-natured grin and starts to turn away from him, heading back towards the castle. “Riley.”

“Yes?”

“Would you want to maybe go to the ball with me?” The words come out so fast even he doesn’t exactly understand what he just said. He can feel his hands shaking so he stuffs them in his pockets where she can’t see them.

She turns around, tilting her head curiously. “What? Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

“I—,” he starts, clearing his throat and forcing himself to speak more clearly. Speak now, or forever hold his peace. “I was wondering, if maybe, you’d consider, well, if you’d maybe want to go to the ball. With me. Together.”

Riley blinks at him, her features not conveying any sort of opinion on the matter except surprise. Finally, the ghost of a smile forms over her lips. “Oh, Lucas. That’s so sweet. I… I’d love to go with you.”

He lets out a sigh of relief. “Really? Great. Well—,”

“But I can’t.”

Suddenly, he recognizes the emotion coloring the smile on her lips. It’s not flattery. It’s not affection. It’s something far, far worse.

Pity.

“Charlie already asked me,” she explains timidly, fiddling with a seam on the front of her robes. “You know Charlie, right? He plays on our Quidditch team. He’s a Seeker, I think.”

Lucas forces himself to speak. “Yeah, I know him.”

“Yeah. He asked me about a week ago. And I told him I’d go.” She frowns slightly, looking at him sympathetically. “I already told him I’d go with him.”

“Oh.” He doesn’t know what else to say. He’s afraid if he leaves his mouth open too long, the humiliation will make him vomit. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” she says, sincerity shining through her gaze. It’s obvious she means it. “I really do mean it though. I would’ve loved to go with you.”

He knows she’s being honest, but it doesn’t help matters. All it does is sting. Everything stings. Lucas swallows hard, nodding and scooting around her to head back up towards the castle. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Aren’t you going to Hagrid’s?”

“It’s okay. Thanks,” he repeats blankly, not exactly processing her words as he makes his way back up to the front entrance. It’s amazing how sharply pity stings.

Lucas and Maya finally decide to go together as friends under the advice of their friend Asher in the common room one evening as they’re both moping about, Maya grumping over the fact that Josh Matthews won’t even give her the time of day even if she did bother to ask, and Lucas still stinging from his outright rejection. The worst part of it is he knows that maybe if he’d asked earlier, she may have said yes. If he’d asked earlier, Charlie wouldn’t have gotten there first.

The worst part is Riley is going to the ball with perfect Hufflepuff prince Charlie Gardner and it’s all his fault.

Zay leaves early the night of the event to meet up with Vanessa, so Maya and Lucas set out to leave on their own. When he descends down from the boys dormitory and finds her dully lounging in one of the armchairs in front of the fire, it certainly lowers the appeal of her formal appearance. When she rises to her feet to get a good look at him, even he has to admit that his spitfire friend is pretty stunning when she puts a little effort in. Classically Gryffindor, she looks very nice in red.

She looks severely less impressed with him, sneering. “Blue dress robes? Really? We couldn’t even match?”

“What?” he says defensively, shrugging as they exit the portrait hole and head towards the staircase. “I’m just playing the part. Josh is a Ravenclaw, isn’t he?”

Maya steps very intentionally on his foot in her four inch heels, making her point loud and clear. “Shut up, Huckleberry.”

They’re stiff as they link arms and enter the great hall, transformed into an illustrious, winter-themed ballroom for the evening. Lucas scans the crowd for Zay but ends up finding Smackle instead, catching her attention and causing her to glide over to them, Farkle right on her heels.

“Lucas, Maya, you both look lovely this evening. I see you’re branching out colors wise.”

“Yeah, you too, Smack,” Maya says pleasantly, raising her eyebrows at Farkle as she takes in his lush evergreen suit. “Gee, Farkle. You sure clean up well.”

“Thank you, Maya,” he says smugly, clasping his hands together in front of him.

“It’s nice to see you haven’t killed each other yet,” Lucas comments.

Farkle looks like he wants to say something, but Smackle beats him to it. She smiles up at him, a surprising amount of genuine warmth radiating from her. He beams back. “He’s proven himself to be an acceptable dance partner. He at least provides an engaging enough conversation.”

They’re distracted as Zay slides over to join them, having found them amongst the crowd. “There you guys are!”

“We’ll leave you to it, then,” Smackle says, drifting away. Farkle follows along behind her, more than a little bit smitten from the expression on his face.

“Lucas, check her out,” Zay demands, grabbing his best friend and turning him to face the other end of the room. Vanessa stands talking to a few of her Slytherin friends, gorgeous as ever in a sleek silver dress and with her lovely curls. “Can you believe she was dumb enough to say yes to me? I’m really here with Vanessa Johnson. Can you believe that?”

“I’m happy for you, buddy,” he nods, patting him on the shoulder. “Don’t you think you should be there with her, though? Lest she realize her mistake?”

“You’re right. You’re so right. But don’t go far, okay? They’re gonna get the band up there soon and they’re we’re gonna party on. It’s going to be so wicked.”

Maya and Lucas don’t drift very far, both in pretty sour moods to start. The night isn’t a total disaster though, as both of them manage to avoid their would-be dates and enjoy some dancing with their Gryffindor classmates. Lucas runs into Dave and Jade, two Ravenclaws he got to know in Charms, and they give him a compliment on his blue dress robes.

Lucas figures he’s going to make it through the evening alright until he runs into Riley by the drinks, the stinging surging all over again.

“Lucas!” she says brightly, cheeks flushed and smile wide from an obviously enjoyable evening. In her pastel yellow dress with her hair done up in an intricate, elegant braid, she’s even harder to look away from. “Aren’t you just having the time of your life? This is the best night ever. I love your robes. Blue is such a nice color on you.”

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” It’s a lot of conversation to absorb all at once. “You look really beautiful.”

A blush crawls up Riley’s cheeks. She waves him off humbly. “I really love the music. And the cake is delicious, have you tried it yet? It’s just… it’s such a great night. I don’t ever want it to end.”

Lucas tries not to think about the fact that this attitude of hers is probably due to being there with Charlie. He tries not to let it bother him.

“Lucas.”

“Huh?”

“Who are you here with? Did you bring someone?”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” he says blankly. “Maya and I came together.”

A different emotion flashes through Riley’s features for a fraction of a second, a far cry from the joy written all over her expression. She furrows her brow, still managing a smile although it’s noticeably thinner. “Maya? You and Maya are here together?”

“Yeah.”

There’s a sudden chill in the air between them. Lucas sort of wonders if it’s new, or if it’s building up for a while now and is just starting to permeate into the atmosphere around them. It certainly puts a damper on the conversation, and as the band starts up a slow song, Lucas figures that’s his cue to leave her alone.

“Well, guess I should go. Charlie’s probably waiting for you,” he says, giving her a nod and avoiding eye contact as he steps away from her.

There’s a second of hesitation. “Lucas, wait.”

Riley reaches out to take his hand, and for a split second it’s like the rest of the world freezes in time. Lucas glances down at their hands before locking eyes with her, searching her face for the reason she held him back.

She doesn’t know what it is. There feels like a million things she could say, should say. She should tell him she’s sorry. She should ask him to dance. She should ask him why he didn’t bother to ask her sooner, because if he had maybe it’d be them here together instead of her and Charlie. Instead of him and her best friend.

Because if he had, she knows she would’ve said yes.

Lucas breaks the moment first, stepping away from her and taking his hand from hers. “Go, Riley. Enjoy your dance.”

He doesn’t wait for her to reply, spinning around and striding away from her. Putting a thousand miles of distance between them with every step he takes.

“Hey,” Charlie says, coming up to her side and following her eye line to deduce what’s caught her attention. “Everything okay?”

“What? Yes,” she says, managing a cheerful tone. “Yes, everything is fine.”

Charlie smiles, offering her a hand. After a moment, she takes it. All things considered, Charlie is a very nice guy. She should be so lucky to have such a nice guy interested in her.

As the song progresses, it seems her and Lucas’s friendship isn’t the only thing crumbling a bit. Smackle storms past Riley and Charlie, dismayed enough to draw Riley’s attention. She’s about to say something when Farkle comes jogging after Smackle, delaying her words. “Smackle!”

“Farkle, I would rather not speak to you right now,” she says delicately, lacking her usual tenacity. She spins on her heel and faces him, expression stony. “Thank you for the evening. I had a wonderful time. And now, I’d like to go. Good night.”

Farkle stares after her, obviously dumbstruck as to what might’ve happened. Glancing over her shoulder, Riley sees a similar situation unfolding as Maya gets to her feet from where she and Lucas were sitting. Zay is standing by them, more than a little miffed even from where she’s standing.

“Are you really going to end the night like this?” he snaps, putting his hands on his hips and staring down his mopey best friends. “We get one Yule Ball, and you’re both going to call it quits and spend the rest of the night grumping.”

“Why do you even care, Zay?”

“Because you’re bringing down the whole night!” Zay shakes his head at them, evidently frustrated by their behavior. “I get that you’re both pissy you didn’t get to go with who you wanted to, but you don’t have to make everyone else miserable with your terrible attitude.”

“Well, sorry you feel that way,” Maya says mockingly. “How terrible for you.”

“You know what, Maya?”

Zay is about to lay into her when both of them go quiet, Josh passing by with his date Sophie Miller, a seventh year and Head Girl. Maya watches them, biting the inside of her cheek and turning her tearful glare on Zay. He doesn’t have anything more to say.

She looks to Lucas, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. “You ready to go?”

He gazes across the room at Riley with her arms around Charlie, swaying to the music. She catches him glance in her direction. “Let’s bounce.”

“Real mature, you guys,” Zay gripes as the two of them storm off together. “You’re wasting a perfectly good evening!”

Lucas doesn’t reply, gritting his teeth and fidgeting to undo his tie. He pretends he doesn’t notice Maya silently crying next to him as they walk out together.

What he really doesn’t notice is Riley watching them go, feeling a little tearful herself at the fact that her two best friends feel a million miles away from her and she has no idea why. She has no idea why they decided to leave her behind.

**\- 5 -**

Fifth year, for all its trouble, erases most of the damage done by the previous year and puts Lucas and Riley back where they’re supposed to be. They’re certainly not reluctant to hold hands, in any case.

They’re really very comfortable with one another at this point, and Riley has never had a problem showing affection towards those she’s comfortable with. So maybe they like to hold hands when they walk down the hall together. So maybe she likes to give him a peck on the cheek when she greets him the great hall or when they say goodbye to head off to their separate classes. People make assumptions, and it’s not up to Riley to correct every rumor about them she hears flitting through the halls. If her classmates want to believe they’re secretly in a relationship, then she figures they can believe what they want. Fifth year has enough to otherwise preoccupy her attention.

It’s near-expulsions and dramatics and continued confusion over feelings for all of their friends. But it’s also hippogriff rides, and successful OWL exams, and the feeling of finally starting to figure out just exactly who they’re all going to be when they leave this place in a couple of years.

As Riley is walking along the halls, watching all the students celebrate the end of term, she can’t help but feel overwhelmed with affection for this grand castle and its hallowed halls. All the people she’s met and things she’s learned and all the memories that are locked away inside it. If she’s feeling emotional now, she can’t imagine what a wreck she’s going to be in two years.

Having said goodbye to Zay, as well as Farkle and Smackle who officially survived an entire year as a couple with no intention of calling it quits, Riley is on the search to find her other best friend before she and Maya leave with her father for the summer.

She finds Lucas exactly where she figured she would, tucked away in the back corridor of the third floor. She knows of it only because Maya led her there one day back in second year, and considering how tough the year was for him she assumed he’d be up here to reflect the best way he knows how—by ignoring it entirely and focusing on something else.

In this case, a fantasy.

He’s sitting in front of the colossal mirror when she rounds the corner to find him, arms wrapped around his knees with a distant, thoughtful expression on his face. She watches him for a moment, unable to help the fond smile that creeps onto her lips, before she wanders over to join him.

He’s a bit startled when she settles down next to him, giving him a friendly beam. He nods and focuses back on the mirror in front of him, a little less absorbed than before.

Riley knows he’s been here before. Many times, in fact, if Maya’s account is truthful. But she’s never mentioned what exactly he’s looking at when he stares into the glass for hours at a time—Riley’s fairly certain he’s never told her. It would make sense, considering both of her best friends are very private people. They could sit in front of the mirror together for hours at a time and never mutter one word to each other.

Riley, on the other hand, thinks talking would do him better.

“There’s a bunch of people,” she says.

Lucas tears his gaze away from the mirror to give her a confused look. “Huh?”

“I see a bunch of people,” she repeats softly, trying her best to relay what she sees when she stares at the reflective surface towering in front of them. Knowing he sees something entirely different. “A crowd, really. There’s a crowd of people and I’m there too, but I think the point is that I’m standing out. There’s all these people but everyone else is blurry. For whatever reason, I’m remarkable. I stand out. I’m the only thing you can focus on.”

“That’s how I see you,” Lucas says without thinking.

Riley hesitates. She doesn’t look at him, keeping her attention on the mirror. Her heart is pounding in her wrists again, but not from fear. “In the mirror?”

Lucas glances at her, realizing his mistake. He swallows, not offering her an answer, but she gets what he meant. He’s always looked at her a little differently than everyone else. It’s only in the last year or so that she started to realize it. It’s only in the last year or so that she started to realize she looks at him a little differently, too.

“There aren’t a lot of people,” Lucas says, eyes fixed on the mirror.

“In the mirror?”

“In the mirror. I don’t see a lot of people. Just a few important ones. And I’m there too. And these people are looking at me, sizing me up. And I think they like what they see. These really important people…” he trails off, trying to find the right words. He presses his palm into his fist, anxiously fidgeting for the sake of moving. “They’re proud of me.”

Riley gazes at him, tilting her head. “That’s how I see you.”

“How?”

“I’m proud of you,” she explains. At the look of disbelief on his face, she nudges his arm with her shoulder. “I’m serious. Why wouldn’t I be? Everything you overcame this year? I mean, from the expulsion, and the nonsense from Quidditch last year, to where you are now. You have friends who love you, a passion you’re great at, a role as a teaching assistant for a class you really enjoy lined up next year. You did great on your OWLs. Anyone who really knows you would be crazy not to be proud of you.”

Lucas lifts his gaze from his hands to meet her eyes, smiling bashfully after a moment of hesitation. Although he doesn’t say much, she knows how much the words mean to him. She’s glad she means every single one.

“You know, they say the most powerful thing about this mirror is how it sucks you in. There’s so much wonderful, desirable stuff in the reflection—our greatest desire, after all—that we forget to live on the other side.”

Riley reaches forward to take his hand. It’s a gesture she’s done a million times before, even more so in the past year than ever before. But this time it feels a little different. A little more in focus.

Lucas glances at the mirror again before locking eyes with her. He finds it a little crazy how no matter how easy it is to get lost in the Mirror of Erised, it’s much simpler to get lost in her brown eyes.

“I think you and I have some pretty great stuff going on here on the other side. It would be a shame to lose it all to whatever is in that reflection.”

Lucas nods, linking their fingers together. She smiles warmly, scooting closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. Not getting caught up in the fantasy in the reflection, but not jumping back into the real world quite yet. Enjoying this small in-between place she and Lucas share. Where she’s always felt safe. Where she feels the most at home.

He thinks on her words for a little while longer, placing his other hand on top of their joined fingers and tilting his head against hers. He has to admire the way Riley plunges forward into the uncertainty of the future with seemingly no trepidation at all. She has her reservations and insecurities, sure, but she approaches them with optimism rather than doubt.

He thinks maybe he could learn a thing or two from her.

**\- 6 -**

Lucas and Riley are very good at holding hands by the time sixth year kicks into gear.

It’s a bit of a learning curve, relationships, but it’s something the two of them have been practicing at for a long time so they’ve got somewhat of a leg up on their peers. They get a taste of this watching Smackle and Farkle attempt to navigate their continuing romantic entanglement, which they still seem to be getting the hang of after a year together as a pair.

“I’m just saying, if you guys paid attention in History of Magic, maybe you wouldn’t be struggling so hard to write this paper.”

“Imagine caring that much about History of Magic,” Zay says with an eye roll, leaning around Farkle to shoot Lucas a look as they made their way down the hall. Farkle had grown quite a few inches since first year, so it was impossible to look over him now.

Lucas shakes his head with a smirk, grinning wider when he spots Riley heading towards them from the other end of the hall. Maya and Smackle are with her, and when the group of them come face to face in the middle of the corridor there’s an awkward pause as all of them try to figure out exactly what to say.

Learning curve, after all.

“We find out about the Slug Club this afternoon,” Smackle says to break the silence, speaking to the group but keeping her eyes on Farkle. “Shall we meet to check the owlery for the invitations together?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Farkle says agreeably, giving her a proud smirk. Riley catches Maya roll her eyes—if anyone was guaranteed a spot in the coveted inner circle of the potions master, it would definitely be Farkle Minkus or Isadora Smackle.

Another long silence. Smackle clears her throat. “Well, then, I’ll see you after class.”

“See you then.” After a moment of hesitation, Farkle leans down to tentatively place a kiss to Smackle’s cheek. Although the rest of them are attempting to hold back their giggles, it’s obvious Smackle rather enjoys the display of affection—impressive, considering her aversion to everyone else.

As the girls push past them to walk away, Riley catches Lucas off-guard by giving him a light pinch to the ribs. “See you later.”

He has to resist the urge to follow after her.

Lucas turns back to his friends just as Zay is breaking into chuckles at Farkle’s expense. He rolls his eyes at them, leading the way towards their Divination class. “Oh, shut up.”

When invitations are given out for Slughorn’s annual Christmas party, Lucas and Zay finds themselves as the only two without an invite. Although it doesn’t surprise him, Lucas has to admit it bites a little bit that all of his friends are considered impressive, elite students worthy of getting to know better, and he isn’t even given a second glance.

“Oh, come on, Lucas,” Asher says in the common room that evening, flipping his invitation nonchalantly in his fingers and attempting to cheer the two of them up. “You know it doesn’t mean much. He’ll probably toss half of us in the garbage after this party anyway. It’s just a schmooze technique.”

“Yeah,” Maya agrees, lowering her invitation dangerously close to the fire, pulling it away at the last second and repeating the motion a few more times for good measure. “And you know he’s not going to want me back.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because we get to bring a guest, and I’m bringing along you,” she says, pointing to Zay. “On the condition that you act as obnoxious as possible.”

“Free food and an excuse to be annoying?” He grins, reclining more comfortably into the couch and propping his feet up on the table. “Sounds like a wonderful evening to me.”

Lucas’s derision doesn’t last long, as Riley is kind enough to invite him as her guest so he won’t miss out on any of the festivities. It’s just a courtesy move on her part, but still, Lucas puts concentrated effort into dressing nicely. He gets the information on what dress Riley is wearing from her roommate Darby, so when he meets her in the entrance hall wearing just the right amount of green to compliment her lilac dress, she’s obviously pleasantly surprised.

“Wow, you look great,” she says cheerfully, standing on her tip-toes to press a kiss to his cheek. He knows they’re just friends and everything, but he holds a certain amount of pride at the fact that he’s practically the only one of her friends who gets cheek kisses.

“So do you. I mean, you always do.” She beams at him and he offers his arm for her to take. She does so, linking their fingers together and leading the way towards the dungeons.

The party passes on without much to do, the most entertaining aspect of the evening coming from Zay and Maya’s attempts to be as insufferable as they possibly can. The way they’re managing, it would be a true miracle if Slughorn invited her back in the future.

Riley examines one of the trays of food on the table in front of them, eyeing it curiously and raising an eyebrow at Lucas. “What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. Never seen it before.”

“As my guest, I expect you to know these things.”

“Hey, you’re the pureblood here, not me,” he jokes, stuffing his hands in his pockets and giving her a challenging look. “Why don’t you try it? That’ll let you know.”

She crinkles her nose uncertainly. “What if it’s like… gross? What if it’s like, dragon balls?”

“Won’t know until you try.”

She nudges him, narrowing her eyes before reaching down to pick up one of the strangely shaped hors d’oeuvres. She places it quickly into her mouth and chews carefully, her expression relaxing rather than screwing up. She gives Lucas a thumbs up.

“Riley!”

She nearly chokes at being addressed, causing Lucas to crack up. She swallows the remainder of the snack just as Charlie Gardner approaches them, greeting them with a friendly smile.

“Lucas, you’re here too. That’s great.”

“Oh, yeah, Riley invited me.”

“Awesome,” Charlie says, smiling as Riley finishes avoiding choking on her food and offers a nod of agreement. “You know, it’s so good to see you guys together.”

Both of them wear matching expressions of uncertainly. Riley can feel her cheeks flush. “Oh, it’s not like—,”

“We’re not—,”

“I just—,”

“She just invited me—,”

“We’re just friends,” they conclude in unison, exchanging bashful eye contact before dropping their gazes to the floor. Lucas clasps his hands in front of him, nodding to emphasize the point.

Charlie stares at them for a couple of moments, amusement coloring his features. “Right.”

It’s fairly obvious he doesn’t believe them. And for what it’s worth, neither of them seem entirely convinced either.

Maya ends up getting invited back for another party. “I told you this thing was rigged.”

By the middle of spring term, Lucas and Riley finally stop dancing around each other and get together, much to the relief of their weary classmates. For many of them, it comes as a surprise simply because most of them thought they were already together.

Despite all the amazing years they’ve had as friends to get to know one another and the amazing rest of term they have getting to wear in their new relationship, Riley can’t help but be a little nervous as they disembark from the Hogwarts Express and get ready to head their separate ways for the summer. They’ve done so every year, but this year it feels different—there’s a lot more to lose if something should go wrong.

Maya and Zay walk ahead of them, not bothering to wait up for them to say goodbye. “Can you believe we’re going to be able to apparate here next year?”

“Yeah, that’s what you think,” Zay laughs. “You’re going to show up here missing a leg.”

Riley and Lucas walk to the edge of the platform hand in hand, easily spotting Topanga and Auggie waiting for her amongst the crowd of parents. Even with all the times she’s held his hand in the past six years, she suddenly doesn’t want to let go.

“You’re coming back next year, right?” she asks for about the fifth time since they got on the train, turning to face him. “You’re eighteen, you don’t technically have to do seventh year if—,”

“Yes, Riley,” he assures her, giving her a fond smile. “I’m coming back next year.”

She hesitates. “And you’re going to write?”

“I’m going to write. Like I do every summer.” He reaches up to push some hair behind her ear, raising his eyebrows at her. “Would you relax? Nothing is any different than before. Everything’s going to be fine.”

She inhales deeply, breaking into a grateful smile and pulling him forward into a hug. He embraces her tightly, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Everything’s changed,” she says into his shoulder.

“Is that a good thing?”

They pull apart, examining each other for a long moment. All things considered, even though change is scary, Riley figures she wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s choosing to look at it with fascination rather than fear. Lucas is choosing to look at it with optimism rather than doubt. Amazing, the things they learn from each other.

“I think it is, yeah.” She smirks at him. “Would you concur?”

Lucas doesn’t provide a reply, choosing instead to take both her hands and give her a long kiss. It’s not a verbal affirmation, but it gets the point across.

Her hand leaves his as she jogs to meet up with her family, but she’s not so afraid anymore. She knows it’s only a matter of time before she gets to hold it again.

**\- 7 -**

Nothing’s changed and everything’s changed, but they’ve come a long way since they first held hands in the Forbidden Forest.

Seventh year finds both of them being named Head Boy and Head Girl, and with it they move into the special dormitories reserved just for them. It’s a shame to leave Darby and Zay and Asher and all the roommates they’ve been living with for the past six years, but trading them out for getting to live right across the hall from one another isn’t such a bad exchange.

Especially once they figure out exactly which charm can be used to silence the alarm in the rooms that tips off Headmaster Turner that they may have members of the other gender in their living quarters. Lucas has always excelled in Charms.

It’s a worthy trade-off, but it has it’s qualms—most importantly that having each other as distractions in the morning makes being late to class much more common and skipping class much more tempting.

“We’re going to be late,” Riley whines indignantly after accepting another long kiss from him, both of them sprawled comfortably in his bed this morning. “Come on, let’s go.”

He hums disagreement, taking her face in his hands and pulling her back down for another kiss. She doesn’t put up much of a fight. “Five more minutes.”

“You said that five minutes ago.”

“I stand by my words.”

She giggles, pressing a kiss to his nose and crawling to her knees. “Come on, up. We’re Head Boy and Girl. We can’t be encouraging such nonsense to the young, impressionable students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

“You know, they don’t know what we’re doing when we show up late to class,” Lucas argues as both of them make themselves presentable for the day. They have an even share of each other’s clothes stashed in their rooms, so it’s never a hassle getting ready no matter which room they end up in. “We could be running important errands. Taking care of important things. We could be studying.”

“I think the last thing anybody would believe is the idea that you, Lucas Friar, are studying.”

He gasps in faux offense, tucking his shirt halfway into his pants and leaning forward to give her a quick kiss. “I happen to be doing an awful lot of studying. You just happen to be my favorite subject.”

She rolls her eyes, but she can’t help the smile that creeps onto her lips. She reaches forward to straighten his tie, getting distracted over that one button he allows manages to leave undone. It’s bothered her since third year and still does, but the nature of the obsession has changed quite a bit. In third year, all she wanted to do was reach over button it up so his uniform would be in perfect order—nowadays, she debates whether to button up the last one or undo the rest of them.

Nothing’s changed, but boy has everything changed.

She decides to leave it as it always is, reaching down to take his hand. “I don’t think McGonagall is going to be very impressed with that reasoning if you show up any later to Transfiguration. Let’s go.”

As she’s done a million times before, she leads him by the hand as they jog out of the Head dormitories and down the moving staircase towards class. They stay linked together until they have to part ways in the entrance hall, Lucas heading towards Transfiguration and Riley headed towards the dungeons for Advanced Potions.

“See you at lunch.” She presses a quick kiss to his cheek, squeezing his hand and starting to move away.

It’s then that Lucas notices the mistake she made in dressing so hastily this morning—one of his bold red Gryffindor ties secured around her neck rather than the usual golden yellow of Hufflepuff. He tightens his grip on her hand to stop her as she starts down the steps. “Riley, wait.”

She whips around to gaze up at him, curiosity coloring her features. He opens his mouth to say something but decides against it. He decides he likes her in red anyway.

“Have a good day.”

She smiles affectionately at him, giving his hand one last squeeze before letting go and continuing her jog down the steps. “Get to class, silly.”

Lucas watches her go, waiting until she disappears into the dungeon before starting his own jog to class. He’s definitely going to hear it from Professor McGonagall, but he figures it’s well worth it. Any time with Riley is well worth it.

He’s always loved magic, and Riley Matthews is definitely the rarest kind of magic he’s ever known.


End file.
